Stakes So High
by GreyEyesGlaringAtShonda
Summary: Sorry I suck at summaries...it's AlexIzzie post season 2 finale. A request by heatherbird on LJ...


Stakes So High 

a story by greyeyedgirl

Requested by and dedicated to **_heatherbird_**...I hope you enjoy:D

Summary: Alex/Izzie post season 2 finale.

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_Prologue_

When Isobel Stevens was a little girl, her mother had liked to go to the blackjack table at the back of the truck stop she had worked at, and gamble. Her mother was born with an unstoppable amount of faith, and every time, she bet all the cash she had brought, even the money she'd needed to pay the electric bill, or get gas to go home, or pick up something for dinner for Izzie.

From watching her mother do this, Izzie had learned at a very young age how dangerous gambling could be. It wasn't easy to win, the odds were never on your side, and you should never, ever bet everything. In fact, in Izzie's opinion, you shouldn't bet at all.

When Isobel had made the decision to cut Denny's LVAT wire, she had known she was making a double-or-nothing decision. But like her mother all those years ago, Izzie had had complete, and utter, faith. Burke was going to rush back. He was going to use his miracle-working hands and brilliant knowledge to grab her fiance from the brink of death, bringing him back away from the light.

And then there'd been a moment, when she found out Burke couldn't save her, when she'd remembered going hungry at night, or barely salvaging enough to pay the bills. She had made a stupid, stupid decision.

But then! He had been alright! _He had gotten the transplant._ He was going to be fine. **_Denny was going to be okay._** It had been a huge sacrifice, but Izzie had won. She had gotten exactly 21 points, and everything was going to be perfect.

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Izzie stood outside the hospital, staring out at the dark parking lot, the hot Seattle air causing her to perspire over the bright pink strapless dress she donned. Alex stood next to her, his arm draped loosely around her waist, and although at first she was barely aware of him, she now noticed every time he dug his face into her hair, her mind acknowledging every time he traced the side of her waist with his finger.

"Iz..." he murmured. She shook her head quickly, begging him silently not to talk, the streaming tears sliding down her face, her breathing quiet. Alex looked down at the ground sadly, looking up to watch the dim light of the nearest streetlamp, then taking in the eternal starless night.

"Whatever you need…Izzie, I'm here for you," he said quietly. Izzie closed her eyes, seeing Denny's face, her ears taking in the sound of Denny's voice and laugh.

"Thank you, Alex," she said hoarsely. He turned to look at her, gripping her waist even more tightly, before lowering his head so his lips brushed her forehead.

She had had sex with him exactly 10 times, but never before had she felt him be so gentle, and so loving. Isobel looked up at him from under tear-soaked lashes, and he gently took his hand, the one that wasn't embracing her waist, and brushed away the wet spots soaking her cheeks just under her large, bright puffy eyes.

"Izzie…I…" She shook her head again, her hair coming out of its fancy up-do, and he let out a small gasp, as the blonde strands, now curling, brushed against his face. "Please don't talk. I can't listen to you being all sweet…and think about him."

The look on his face almost mirrored hers, and all he wanted to do was take away her pain, embrace her even tighter and tell her that everything was going to be okay. The urge was so strong, but he knew he couldn't do it. He knew she wouldn't be able to deal with it, wouldn't be able to accept his love. Because that was how he honestly felt…he loved her, and nothing was ever going to change that.

"Do you want me to take you home?" He heard himself mutter. She shook her head. "I can't be there right now. I can't be anywhere where I have…memories. Where I've thought about--"

Alex turned so he was hugging her, gently pushing her falling hair behind her ear and out of her face. She succumbed into him, wrapping her arms around his waist and digging her face into the jacket of his tux.

"Here…Izzie…are you cold?" He murmured. Before she could answer his jacket was off, and he wrapped it around her gently, looking at her face. She raised her eyes, and their gaze caught. It was, oddly, exactly like the times their eyes had caught in the locker room, or at the lunch table, or inside the supply closet during the bomb. That old chemistry was there, and all Alex could do while he looked at her was take in the glow of her beauty.

"Come on. You can sleep at my place tonight." He rested his hands on her shoulders, squeezing them lightly, looking into her eyes again.

Her silent pain had turned into a glare. "I swear to God, Alex!" She yelled, breaking away and heading down the parking lot. His face transformed into shock, and he followed her quickly. "Izzie---what are you---"

She turned around, her hair now falling wildly into her face. "I can't believe---after all that's happened tonight---you would try to get in my pants!" She shook her head, angst-ridden. "Alex, you know what I think of you-" She moved to spit.

"Izzie! Izzie, Izzie," Alex grabbed her, taking her back into his arms. She fought him for a few moments, before falling back into his arms. _"Izzie, Izzie, Izzie," _he murmured. _"Izzie…Izzie…"_ She started to shake, and he knew she was crying again. Running his fingers through her hair, he kissed the side of her head, his bottom lip brushing against her ear. _"Izzie…I would never…"_ He murmured.

Izzie's sobbing gasps grew louder. "Take me home. Please, please just take me home. Not Meredith's. Take me _home._"

It took Alex a few seconds before he realized what she was asking. Taking her slender hand in his, he wrapped his strong arm around her delicate shoulders, leading him to his car. He opened the door for her, guiding her into the seat, rearranging his jacket over her like it was a blanket. She shook slightly as he did so, and raised her eyes again as he went to back out from over her after fastening her seat belt. Their gaze caught for a moment, and he managed a weak smile.

Working his way over to the driver's side of the car, he shook his shoulders a bit, trying to fight off his nerves, then exhaustion. He slipped into his seat in the car, his fingers putting the key into the ignition with surprising control, which acted like a black/white contrast to Izzie, still shaking, in the seat barely two feet away.

Neither of them spoke as Alex drove the five-eighths of a mile to his home. She was surprised to see he lived in a house, opposed to an apartment. It was a very small house, but still. Only one floor and small, it was white with a few bushes in front. He led her to the inside, opening the door for her and switching on the light.

Izzie looked around wearily, taking in her surroundings as her eyes adjusted to the sudden glare of whitish-yellow. It wasn't obsessively clean, even slightly cluttered, with medical texts scattered over the coffee table and onto the sofa, and some car magazines laying in a pile by the TV. Alex led her past the kitchen, which was simple with only a small refrigerator plastered with yellow sticky notes and a small wooden table, making his bachelor-lifestyle obvious even to the untrained eye, and into the bedroom. A large bed with three dark pillows and a large comforter was in the middle of the room, the only furniture besides a small night table with an alarm that read **1:27** in bright red, and a TV with a _Underworld: Evolution_ DVD on top of it, which sat upon a wooden bureau. Alex opened the dresser cautiously, taking out an **_Iowa_** t-shirt and a pair of loose sweatpants.

"Here. You can sleep in these," he said, turning to hand them to her. Izzie took them, looking at him carefully.

"You can sleep on my bed. I'll go crash on the couch." He smiled again, before rubbing the side of her arm casually. "Um, the bathroom's through that door--" He pointed, "And you know where the fridge is, help yourself if you get hungry. If you, um, need anything, call out." He smiled, before leaning forward to kiss her cheek. Izzie actually felt herself smile.

Alex turned to go. "See you in the morning, Izzie," he said quietly. She turned to look at him one last time, before he closed the door behind him.

Izzie felt unsettled as she pulled her dress down, pulling on Alex's tee shirt over her head. She was too tired to cry, and besides, she doubted if she even had any tears left. Pulling on Alex's sweat pants over her white panties, she pushed the hair out of her face, annoyed. Taking the hair-tie that had held her glossy strands in place, for the majority of the evening anyway, she set the half dozen tiny clips onto Alex's night table. She climbed into bed under his heavy navy blanket, closing her eyes and waiting for the nightmares to start.

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Alex awoke with a start 57 minutes later, the light blanket he'd snatched from the hall closet falling off of him. He jumped up, hearing the crying coming from his bedroom, and rushed into the room.

Ignoring the messy night table where the alarm had just switched to **2:25** and their were tiny barrettes scattered all over, he headed towards Izzie, who was sitting up in bed with her hair framing her face, tears soaking her rose-red cheeks.

"_Izzie…Izzie,"_ he murmured, crawling onto the edge of the bed, pushing her hair behind her ear and rubbing the back of his fingers against her tear-stained cheeks. She opened her eyes, taking in the sight of him with his shirt off and his pants unbuttoned, and cried harder, shaking her head fiercely.

"_Izzie…_I promise it'll be okay…It'll be okay," Alex whispered. Izzie did the first that night that had truly surprised him, and held out her arms. He could not take the sight of her begging to come to him, and gently crawled under the covers, laying next to her on the bed and taking her into her arms.

"Izzie…I promise it will be alright…I promise, Izzie…" She shook her head, wanting it be silent again, and sunk into his arms, laying her head against his shoulder.

"Shhh," he murmured. "Shhhh."

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Alex woke up at 5:45 the next morning, taking in the beautiful blonde-haired girl laying next to him. There was something fantastic about waking up next to her in the morning, better than any other girl had ever made him feel.

She stirred as he rolled out of bed, opening her eyes blearily.

"Shhh. Go back to sleep," he murmured.

She ignored him, sitting up and looking around. Alex watched her nervously.

"I have to look for a job today," she said dazedly. Alex forced a smile.

"There's stuff in the fridge…help yourself to whatever you want. Or you can order something…there's cash in the jar in the kitchen if you need some. I'll be home around seven…" he blushed, realizing she wouldn't be there.

"I'll tell Mer and everyone where you were last night. So they don't get worried."

She nodded, now looking blankly across the room. "Yeah, thanks."

Alex inhaled and exhaled slowly, watching her. "If you want to stay here for awhile…I won't bother you unless you need something. I really don't think you should be alone right now." He spoke boldly, as was his way.

"Thank you. Maybe I will." She was watching him somewhat vaguely.

"Okay. I'll see you tonight." Alex took a shirt and fresh pair of pants out of his dresser, heading into the bathroom to change.

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When Alex arrived home that evening, he found Izzie sprawled on his couch, a large chocolate cupcake in one hand and one of his non-medical books laying on her lap. Her hair was down and looked messy, and she was still in his **_Iowa_** shirt that she'd slept in. She glanced up when he entered the room.

"Oh. Hey." Was all she said. She looked pale under her almost-white hair, and some frosting was smeared above her lips.

"Hey," he said. He couldn't pretend he wasn't glad to see her, but the tear stains she had down her cheeks did nothing to comfort him.

"You hungry? I got Chinese food," he said, showing her the cartons. She accepted one gratefully. "Thanks."

Alex sat down next to her on the couch, watching her hair fall down over her face. "Izzie," he said quietly.

She turned to look at him, and her eyes looked sad. The dark brown orbs matched the chocolate sitting on her upper lip, and he yearned to lick it off, let his lips meet hers again as his body whirled into a tidespin. "Alex…please don't. Thank you for letting me stay here."

He didn't say anything for a moment. "Yeah. Anytime." True, with her staying here, it would be harder to bring home chicks, but in all honesty, he didn't _want_ any other chicks. He just wanted her. Izzie.

He wanted to tell her this, but knew he couldn't. He knew she'd have to figure it out on her own, with time. She'd have to realize by herself that Denny Duquette had not been the only man to see her for _her_ instead of just a 'pretty girl,' she'd have to realize by herself that he wanted her to wake up next to her every morning, and he thought she looked completely stunning in his sweats with her hair falling over her face, or that he thought her cupcakes tasted like heaven on earth…Which was also how he felt about her skin.

And the odd thing was, as Izzie glanced up at him at that moment, to her utter amazement she got a glimpse of that. She looked into his eyes and saw understanding, compassion, and maybe even love, as opposed to the smirk she saw usually toying at his lips. She could see another house, a bigger one, in a different city away from all her painful memories, and she could see doing something with math or research, while he worked a fellowship in plastic surgery somewhere.

Yeah. Though she didn't consciously realize all of it at that moment, she could definitely see something. It might be hard to get there, it might take a hell of a fight, but maybe it could happen. Maybe, Izzie thought, some risks were worth taking…and some bets were entirely okay to bet on.

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a/n: Okay…it's long…but I think it's pretty okay…I'm sorry, I couldn't really get the ending right. But I hope you liked it! Please, _please_ leave a review! Thank you! Heatherbird I hope you liked it! ;)

a/n 2: (edit) I realize now that this fic doesn't really exactly fit the request, which was, "Alex/Izzie after the last episode. Alex helps Izzie figure out what to do now that she has to step down from Seattle Grace. With as much lovin' as you'd like to include (the more the better)." Since it doesn't really have Alex helping Izzie figure anything out. I'm sorry! I hope you like it anyway!


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